This
was a little-known
BritishCeltic
tribe that occupied modern East Sussex, south-west Kent, eastern Surrey,
and the eastern edges of Hampshire. Their tribal centre was at Noviomagus
(Chichester in West Sussex), close to Trisantona Fluvius (the River Arun)
which joined the English Channel at Littlehampton, a little way to the
east of Noviomagus. The tribe was bordered to the west by the
Belgae, to the north by the
Atrebates, and to the
east by the Cantii, while
much of their northern border was filled by the vast and near-impenetrable
Weald Forest. Nevertheless, they were thinly scattered on either side of
the Weald, and there were safe paths through the forest. (See the map of
most of Europe's tribes around the first centuries BC and AD to view the
tribe's location in relation to all other Celts.)

For the most part, the Regninses (Regnenses or Regini) appear to have been
vassals of the Atrebates. They may have been a division of the
BelgicAtrebates
themselves, or may have been part of a confederation of smaller
tribes that predated the arrival of the Atrebates throughout Sussex and
Hampshire. They seem to have escaped true conquest by the Atrebates and
even any real influence from them, but their obvious links with them are
shown by Noviomagus being the earliest capital of the Atrebates, especially
as it lies close to an easy-accessible coastline for migrating Celts
travelling over from the Continent.

The tribe had a form of society that made a greater use of hill forts than
its neighbours to the west. Its location along the southern shore of Britain
would have made it one of the more civilised Celtic tribes. Its people
probably handled a great deal of trade with the tribes in
Europe
right up until the
Romans
conquered Gaul, and along with the Atrebates could have seen the conquest as
an opportunity to increase their regular trade in fine cloth, hunting dogs and
military items. The process worked both ways, enabling them to absorb new ideas,
giving them advantages in culture and technology which some of their neighbours
did not possess.

Their name, 'Regninses', means 'people of the kingdom'. The name was
recorded by the Romans but its origin is unknown. There are at least two
possible sources for it, the first and most obvious of which is that the
people were merely the subjects of the Roman client kingdom set up in AD 43
under Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, in which case the name is not Iron Age
Celtic at all, but a Roman invention (or at least one which was permitted by
the Romans). The other possibility is that it was some kind of collective
name for the people of the Weald, perhaps coined at a time when the Atrebates
were beginning to exert their control over the region and the Regninses either
needed to assert or establish their own identity, or the Atrebates enforced
one upon them.

The date at which the
BelgicAtrebates arrive in
Britain is unknown,
but it may be around this period. They possibly migrate into the country from the south
coast (most likely via Selsey in West Sussex, precisely the same point at which the later
South Saxons also land),
and found an early tribal capital at Noviomagus (modern Chichester in West
Sussex). Over time they migrate north-westwards, integrating with earlier
Celtic populations in the region and founding a new settlement at Calleva,
although this remains relatively minor until the late first century BC.

However, coin distribution contradicts this picture, suggesting that the
Atrebates arrive via the Thames, settling in the Upper Thames Valley and
migrating southwards from there. This would make much stronger the possibility
that the Regninses are an earlier Celtic population who are later subjugated
by the Atrebates.

The Roman baths at Noviomagus were uncovered in the seventies
and are now being exposed again to be incorporated in a
permanent, underground, exhibition

c.90 - 60 BC

Gallo-Belgic C coins can be found which are tentatively identified with Diviciacus of the
Suessiones. Finds are concentrated amongst the
Cantii,
but can be found as far west as the Sussex coast, in the territory of the
Regninses, and up to the
Catuvellauni territory around the Wash. During this late Iron Age
period, it seems that the Regninses capital is located at a prehistoric
settlement at Selsey (in West Sussex), possibly around the Mixon rocks to
the south of Selsey itself. Archaeological evidence to support the theory
has yet to be found, but plenty of
Atrebatean and early
Roman coins have
been found in this area. The settlement declines during the Roman period and
is later covered by rising sea levels.

c.30 - 20 BC

It is possible that during a period of joint rule, Tincommius of the
Atrebates governs the
southern half of the Atrebatean territory from the secondary capital of Noviomagus,
which is within the territory of the Regninses.

c.AD 15

Eppillus
of the Atrebates
is overthrown by his younger brother after the latter builds up a following of
nobles who are disaffected by Eppillus' grab for power. He flees to the land of the
Cantii,
probably passing through Regninses territory along the way, where he
overthrows the ruler and takes command.

43

The Romans
conquer the kingdom under the command of
Governor Aulus Plautius.
The Regninses territory is taken from the control of the
Atrebates
and is reorganised into the pro-Roman kingdom of the Regninses
under the rule of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus. He may be the son of Verica,
the last native king of the Atrebates, and appears to be granted the titles 'Rex Britannorum'
(king of Britain) and Legatus Augusti (imperial legate). A military
supply base is built at Noviomagus from which to provision the legions as
they push further west, into the territories of the Belgae
and
Durotriges.

Direct rule
under the
Romans follows the apparently peaceful death of Cogidubnus (which
remains unrecorded and therefore, probably, unspectacular or noteworthy).
During the last years of his life, a palatial Romano-British villa is built
at Fishbourne, one of the largest ever seen in
Britain,
and is quite possibly his seat of power. It lies alongside a
deep water harbour (now several hundred metres from the Chichester Channel)
about two kilometres east of Noviomagus that is probably built as early as
AD 43 or 44 as part of the Roman supply chain.

The former tribal territory of the Atrebates is subsequently
organised into the civitates (administrative districts within a Roman province) of the
Atrebates, Regninses,
and possibly the Belgae.
The Regninses are governed from the tribal capital Noviomagus Regnorum.

c.140s

Writing around this time, the geographer, Ptolemy, notes that the 'Regni'
are situated below the
Atrebates
and Cantii
with their chief town of Noviomagus. In this century the town gains a bank
and timber palisade which is later replaced with stone, probably in the
third century.

c.290

The Saxon Shore fort of Anderitum or Anderidos (the modern Pevensey Castle)
is constructed on ground not previously used for any form of habitation. The
ground is a peninsula that rises above the marshes along this stretch of the
coast and surrounding it on three sides. The existence of a
Roman
road to the site well before the fort's construction suggests the existence
of a port that has yet to be found by archaeologists. The fort appears to be
built not to prevent incursions by marauding
Saxons
but to provide defensive capabilities during a period in which
Britain
is isolated from the Continent by the rebellion of Marcus Mausaeus Carausius,
who declares himself to be Roman emperor (a later date of the 330s or 340s
is sometimes also given to the fort's founding).

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the extensive villa at Fishbourne is
apparently destroyed by fire in the same period (late third century).
Archaeology has shown that lead from the melting roof falls onto the mosaic
beneath it. The villa is subsequently abandoned. Many of its precision-made
building stones are re-used in other constructions and a number of late
Romano-British burials subsequently take place at the site.

Fishbourne villa was one of the most extensive and
richly-decorated establishments in the whole of Britain, surely
a palace fit for a (client) king?

c.400

The fort of Anderitum undergoes repair work under the direction of
Roman
General Stilicho. He is known to be in
Britain in 398 where he is suspected
to have defended the provinces during the second of the 'Pictish wars'. He
certainly attends to the island's defences before leaving for the Continent
and taking more troops with him. Parts of the fort still stand today.

5th century

By this time the Romano-British Regninses
appear to have regained some level of self-control in the form of the postulated territory of
Rhegin.

Rhegin

This
post-Roman territory seems to have emerged in the middle of the first half
of the fifth century. According to the scanty evidence available, it was
just one of a host of territories that began to appear in this period as
the central British
authority struggled hold the country together between AD 410-425. Occupying
the south coast to the east of the Isle of Wight (territory which today is
largely incorporated within the two counties of Sussex, east and west),
the Rhegin Britons were neighboured to the east by
Ceint, to the north-west
by Caer Celemion,
and to the west by
Caer Gwinntguic.

After ties with
Rome
were formally severed in AD 410, the city of Noviomagus (Chichester in West
Sussex) could have survived as a possible capital of the territory. Fighting
from here, the Britons on the south coast were probably the last native
defenders of the Litus Saxonicum (the Saxon Shore). While the name
Rhegin is used here its actual name is unrecorded, but Rhegin is a viable
Romano-British variation of the tribe's former name of
Regninses. Its use is
supported by a somewhat poorly-accepted opinion which suggests that the
Rhegin Britons were also involved in the colonisation process of
Armorica across the
Channel. They would have taken territory in the east of early
Domnonia, and their
colony was seemingly soon taken over by
Vannetais itself,
but it later emerged into recorded history as the county of
Rennes.

Archaeological evidence points to the Rhegin region of the south coast being
a likely base for friendly mercenaries before Ælle's invasion of AD 477. Two
cemeteries in West Sussex, at Apple Down and at Highdown (near Worthing),
show evidence of use by
Saxonfoederati, suggesting that the widespread use of Saxon mercenaries
during the early fifth century also includes at least two bases in Rhegin,
in the area between the Ouse and Cuckmere.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson,
from English Historical Documents c.500-1042: Chronicle of Nantes
(Chapter 27), Dorothy Whitelock (Ed, Second Edition, 1979), from The
Oxford History of England: The English Settlements, J N L Meyers, from
The Oxford History of England: Anglo-Saxon England, Sir Frank Stenton,
and from External Link:
Pevensey Castle.)

425

It seems possible that Rhegin emerges around this point as a recognisable
territory in its own right, at the same time as
Ceint
emerges to the east. It is probably governed by a magistrate in the
Roman
style who acts under the authority of the country's central authority
(traditionally formed by
High King Vortigern). Rhegin defends the southern portion of the Saxon
Shore, with key posts at Noviomagus and Anderita (Roman Anderitum).

c.450 - 455

The
Meonware
sail around Southampton Water and along the Solent to settle in
eastern Hampshire, possibly on the very edges of Rhegin. These
Jutes
are extremely obscure during their brief
independent existence, but they certainly exist in this location within a
decade of this date. It is possible that they initially serve as laeti,
and may not be seen by the
British of
Caer Gwinntguic
and Rhegin as a threat. The founding of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Highdown
has been dated to about 450, supporting the idea of an influx of mercenaries
at this time.

455 - 457

The British kingdom of
Ceint is overrun at the start of the
revolt of Jutish
mercenaries. Two important battles are fought, at Aegelesthrep in 455 and Crecganford
in 457. The new kingdom of
Kent that is formed by the Jutes appears to incorporate the traditional territories
of the Cantii, including all of Kent, East Sussex bordering Rhegin, eastern
Surrey and
London south of the Thames. However, the Jutes appear not to venture further
into Rhegin, perhaps satisfied for the moment with their conquests.

This map of Rhegin for about AD 477 shows the principle British
settlements along the Sussex coast immediately prior to the
brutal Suth Saxon invasion of that year

477

Newly arrived
Saxons
under Ælle land at Selsey on the south coast (modern West Sussex) and beat off the
Britons
of Rhegin who oppose their landing, driving them to take refuge in the great forest
the Saxons call Andredesleag (The Weald). Suddenly, the southern Saxon Shore has been breached
in a far more major way than the arrival of the
Meonware
had threatened, and
Caer Gwinntguic
is cut off from the south coast.

485

The Suth Seaxe defeat the
Britons at the place the Saxons call Mearcraedes burna (modern location unknown).
The name of the location has been plausibly interpreted to mean 'the stream
of the agreed frontier'. It may therefore relate to a boundary based on one
of the river valleys which divide the Sussex coastal plain and its
hinterland into naturally self-contained sections. There is no
means of knowing which valley bears this name, but it
seems to suggest a temporary frontier between Briton and
Saxon.

It is interesting to note that the Suth Seaxe turn eastwards, along the line
of the Weald, rather than westwards into the fertile open plains of
Hampshire. It suggests that this section of the Saxon Shore is comparably
easy to pick off (although it still takes Ælle fourteen years to achieve
this). Could Ambrosius Aurelianus be defending Hampshire from
Caer Gloui and Amesbury with a much
stronger force that is capable of annihilating Ælle's still small force?

491

The
British fort of Anderita is attacked (Roman Anderitum or Anderidos, Saxon
Andredesceaster, modern Pevensey in East Sussex - which Nennius later calls Caer
Ponsavelcoit). The fort is conquered by Ælle and Cissa and its entire garrison is
slaughtered by the
Suth Seaxe in
what must be a desperate fight. This seems to end any British opposition in the
region (the site is not reoccupied until 1042, when Harold Godwinsson, earl of
Wessex, refortifies the position).

Noviomagus is left highly vulnerable by this loss. It seems that it is partially
destroyed during the completion of Ælle's conquest of the area, and probably
falls to the Suth Seaxe, or at least becomes tributary to them. An isolated client kingdom or vassal state
may also remain in East
Sussex, wedged in by Suth Seaxe,
Cantware and
the forest.

c.496

This
is the probable date of the battle of Mons Badonicus, in which Ælle, as
Bretwalda, attacks the
Britons in the region of
Caer Baddan.
His force is defeated by the Britons. The Suth Seaxe must suffer heavy casualties
as they are so weakened that they now drift into obscurity for around 150 years.
Rhegin quite possibly reasserts its independence, although an event in 501 recorded
in the annals of the
West Seaxe
could signal its final end.

501

A newly arrived
Saxon chieftain and his two ships of followers kill a
Briton of very high rank at Portesmutha (British Portus Adurni, modern
Portsmouth) This could be one of the last surviving parts of Rhegin.
Alternatively, the Briton could be Gereint of
Dumnonia). The name of the Saxon chieftain appears to have been lost, as
it has been conveniently recorded as Port in the
West Seaxe
annals. His sons are Bieda and Mægla (a probable British name).

Excavations at Portchester (probably known as Caer Peris by
the Romano-British), conducted by Barry Cunliffe, have revealed
the presence of what seems to have been a sort of 'peasant militia'
accompanied by wives and children; this ad hoc British defensive
organisation may have continued far into the fifth century.

The British fort of Anderita was originally built by the Romans
as part of their Late Empire Saxon Shore fortifications, and the
main structure still survives as Pevensey Castle

c.514 - c.550

Following the
Roman
withdrawal, Noviomagus has declined but has remained occupied. Now the rebuilding
of the town is begun by the king of the
Suth Seaxe,
Cissa, although its old name is forgotten in favour of that of its
new ruler, becoming Cisseceaster (Cissa's fort, modern Chichester).

c.514 - c.600

Is
the Suth Seaxe
kingdom lost to the
Britons? The invaders lose their prominence and are not mentioned in any
records until the middle of the seventh century. Following Badon, strong
Jutish influences from
Kent enter the
land, suggesting an extension of Kentish rule over the eastern parts of the
territory. If there still exists a British enclave in East Sussex, it is probably
now freed to move westwards and reoccupy areas of West Sussex. Whatever remains
of the Suth Seaxe remains very isolated and perhaps even intermingles with
the Britons.

552

Rhegin's western neighbour, Caer Gwinntguic, falls to the
West Seaxe,
making the territory very vulnerable on that border. If there are still independent
Britons in Rhegin by this date, they must lose their independence within
the next fifty years or so, following the destruction of
Caer Celemion. This latter city is the last British-held territory south
of London and east of Dorset to fall. It seems likely that any remaining
British population in Rhegin intermingles with the remaining
Suth Seaxe
and forms part of the subsequent reformed South Saxon kingdom.